eVOICE for November 26, 2024



GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL CHURCH



The First Sunday of Advent

December 1, 2024

We will be celebrating virtual Eucharist with Transfiguration Church via Zoom at 9:00 am, and Holy Eucharist in-person at Good Shepherd Church 10:30 am.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Crossway Community Giving Tree will be UP December 1! For many years, we at Good Shepherd have had a Christmas outreach to Crossway Community, which is located not far away in Wheaton. (Crossway community includes a school, apartments, and an intergenerational learning center. Crossway describes itself as an entrepreneurial, community based, nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote creativity and community for all families.  Please go to their website to learn more.)

For those of you who attend in-person church and want to participate: 

1. Pick a tag from the tree. Each tag this year represents a specific child along with that child's hoped-for gifts. This will enable you to pray for that child and their family along with doing your shopping.

2. Bring your purchases unwrapped and in a bag to church on Sunday, 12/8, Sunday, 12/15, or to the food drive 12/7 between 11:00-12:00.

3. NEW THIS YEAR: Securely attach the tag you have chosen to the bag in which you enclose your gifts.

Questions can be addressed to Diane Janesko, Lillian Luksenberg, or Lynn Wood. For those of you who want to participate but do not attend the in-person service, contact Lillian Luksenberg before Dec. 15 for alternate plans.   

An Adult Education Offering for the Season of Advent: "Living Into Our Baptismal Covenant"- Join Deacon Linda Mahler and Lynn Wood for an open and far-ranging discussion of how we as Episcopalians can live into the baptismal covenant we have made that calls us to faithfulness in our relationship with ourselves, with God, and most especially with our neighbors. This discussion seems particularly important in these uncertain times, and with violent conflicts raging in many parts of the world,  We will meet on Zoom on Tuesday evenings in Advent, 12/3, 12/10, and 12/17, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. For more information or to get the Zoom link, please email Linda at deacon@gmail.com or Lynn at greglynn2@verizon.net

Wednesday Bible Study - 11:30 am in-person with Deacon Linda Mahler 

Food Drive Collection, Saturday, Dec. 7 11 am

Telephone prayer meeting every Thursday at 9:15 am. The number to call to join the prayer meeting is 508-924-2778. If you have any questions contact Lynette Clark at 301-357-1726. 

From the Worship Team: 

We are delighted to announce that Randy Wilkinson will become our long-term supply priest starting on December 1st.

We are hard at work to make sure that worship at Good Shepherd is both beautiful and meaningful. There are several ways you can let us know how we’re doing, share ideas about what would make worship more fulfilling for you, or ask us questions:

• Come to a worship team meeting. Email Linda (mahlerlindal@gmail.com) for the Zoom link.
• Use this online form to give written feedback: bit.ly/GSECworshipfeedback. We see your comment as soon as you post it. 
• Talk to one of us at church on Sunday.

The conversation continues.… Ray, George, Debbie, Linda and Lynn

Donating through Servant Keeper: Good Shepherd continues to be blessed by all of YOUR generous support! Thank you!! The Vestry and the Finance Committee are faithful and committed stewards of our finances. We now have expanded our online giving capability through our existing Servant Keeper application. This allows you to add the processing fees to your donated amount so the church is not paying them, as we do for PayPal. (The church is currently paying PayPal fees up to $2,000 per year.) The link for donating through Servant Keeper is: https://giving.servantkeeper.com/good-shepherd-episcopal-church. In the upper right corner are 2 green buttons: click on "sign up" to start your account. Servant Keeper will find your prior history and you can then establish a personal account (name and password). There are 2 modes of payment (credit card or bank transfer (ACH). There will be a checkbox to indicate whether you want to pay the fees for the donation. If you have any problems with setting this up, call Debbie at 240-393-5614. The advantage of having this account is you will have direct access to all your donations!!

MESSAGE FROM SENIOR WARDEN

Our 2024 Annual Giving Campaign has been extended! Each year we ask for your pledge to contribute whatever you are able to help us budget for the coming year 2025. Thanks to Lillian Luksenburg Ana Curtis, and Vonnie Schoppelrei who gave inspiring testimonials the last 3 Sundays. Their messages will be posted on our website if you weren't able to be there to hear them.

Our theme this year is Courageous Discipleship where we seek to join our Savior in caring for others by generously sharing what we have been given. We have many reasons to be grateful including our Deacon Linda, our Pastoral Care Team, our Diocese, our congregation and two other congregations all of whom worship in our beautiful sanctuary, Bible study, our Prayer Group and our ministries including the Food Drive, Refugee Response, Crossways Community, Shepherd's Table and a Core Team for Action in Montgomery (AIM). 

Our goal this year is $235,000 in pledges for 2025 and we have received $188,000 to date. We have mailed letters and pledge cards to everyone in our directory (let me know if you did not receive them) and pledge cards are available in church on the side table. You may mail or bring your pledge cards to church (place them in the offering plate or in the lockbox on the table). You may also pledge on our website www.https://gsecmd.org. 

Your financial support is crucial for sustaining and strengthening our congregation and its ministries. Feel free to call me with any questions! 

Love and blessings, Debbie

GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL CHURCH

818 UNIVERSITY BLVD. WEST, SILVER SPRING, MD 20901

Quick Links: GS website GS facebook Episcopal Diocese

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